Tuesday, October 22, 2013

2013 AAC International Climbers Meet

Well here I am, year 3 at the annual American Alpine Club International Climbers Meet.
A gathering of 50 people, ready to climb, eat, drink. Repeat 6 days.

Many people from around the world. Nepal, to Norway, Isreal to England, Brazil to Canada.
Yeah, we got 'em, all here together eating three catered meals a day from the most awesome
caterer in the Bishop, CA area! (Unless you had a forced bivy!) These folks were over the top!
They even stayed late for the late the folks who underestimated times for climbs.
So a BIG shout out to Classy Cowgirl Caterers. You da best, thanks for hooking us up!

Usually the event is held in the great Yosemite Valley. This year was no go, as our US government (or lack thereof) was shut down due to some rogue Tea Party Republicans.
I won't go into how this bothered me. Or how the foreign travelers laughed at our government…
It was less than a week out before the trip, many people had already traveled from far and wide.
Do we just cancel the trip all together? NO! It's time to head East! Err, from Sacramento, I mean...
We shall occupy Bishop California, on the East Side of the Sierra Mountains!

This area is a massive trove of all sorts of climbing from the Buttermillks high desert bouldering, to the High Sierra of Mt. Whitney (14,494ft.) and so many things in between the Bishop and Mammoth area.
Many hot springs to explore as well. Ski and ice in the wintery seasons.

Here is a lineup of my favorite pictures I took on this trip. A few from Liz too, and whoever else had picked up her camera to get a few shots!